Morning Scan
The Scan for Tuesday, July 19

Receiving Wide Coverage ...

B of A Posts a Loss: Bank of America reported a loss of $8.8 billion during the second quarter partly due to the $8.5 billion settlement with investors in June who claimed the bank had sold them poor-quality mortgage-backed bonds. The reported loss to shareholders was 90 cents per common share, according to the Post. CEO Brian Moynihan said, "the solid performance in our underlying businesses continues to be clouded by the costs we are absorbing from our legacy mortgage issues," The Times reported. The Journal said that if you exclude the $1.23 charge a share in mortgage-related and other adjustments, the bank earned 33 cents a share. Wall Street Journal, New York Times, Washington Post

Dodd-Frank One Year Later: With Thursday marking a year since President Obama signed the Dodd-Frank bill into law, the papers took a new look at the legislation from different perspectives. The Journal looked at Gary Gensler and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission. Gensler zealously attempted to implement all rules related to the CFTC, the paper said, "Republicans in Congress have moved to cut the CFTC's budget, curb its power and request time-consuming analyses for every proposal." Gensler and the CFTC are also drawing blame for its failure to complete rules writing for Dodd-Frank. It continued, "The CFTC chairman's struggles spotlight the hurdles facing regulators as they try to implement the 2,000-plus-page bill, which took aim at every corner of the financial landscape with the goal of preventing another crisis." (Block that metaphor!) The Times reported Dodd-Frank critics continue to fight the law, including business groups that argue too many new regulations could slow economic recovery. The White House says banking and business groups have spent more than $50 million to try to change the law, most of which still has not taken effect. Wall Street Journal, New York Times

CFPB Update: The White House may have passed over Harvard law professor Elizabeth Warren to head the new consumer agency that she helped create, but some of her supporters are calling for her to take on a new role: as a U.S. senator, the Post reports. The Journal says that Warren has not ruled out a run and will consider challenging incumbent Republican Scott Brown. The Times' Dealbook detailed Consumer Financial Protection Bureau chief nominee Richard Cordray's appearances on Jeopardy. Cordray retired as a five-time champion on the show, when five appearances were all a champion was allowed. Wall Street Journal, New York Times